


Souvenirs from Space

by betterTomorrows



Series: EllieDina Week March2021 [6]
Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Astronaut AU, Astronaut Ellie, ELLIEDINA WEEK, F/F, Family, Family time, Fluff, POV Dina (The Last of Us)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29913255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betterTomorrows/pseuds/betterTomorrows
Summary: Ellie is off on a year long mission in space. JJ wants a souvenir.“I’ll bring you back a gift from space, but it’ll be a surprise instead. Is that okay?”----EllieDina Week: Day 7 - Prompt: Infinite
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Series: EllieDina Week March2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189691
Comments: 1
Kudos: 46





	Souvenirs from Space

**Author's Note:**

> I had a blast participating in EllieDina Week!
> 
> People should check out all the entries @elliedina-week on tumblr. There are lots of amazing creators and authors that took part, and I suggest giving a looksee at what everyone has made. This fandom is honestly so wholesome and supportive of each other. I've honestly loved taking part of this week's event. 
> 
> Here's a short and sweet and cutesy fluff piece.

> _Name: Ellie Williams_
> 
> _Position: Mission Specialist_
> 
> _Duties: Survey effectiveness of vessel_
> 
> _Mission: Project Circinus_
> 
> _Duration: 392 days_

Dina discreetly read the paper formally inviting Ellie on her first mission to space.

The news wasn’t sudden, of course. Ellie’s team had been petitioning for the trip for a decade, just a few years before they started dating. They always hoped for the best, but they weren’t expecting the world to catch wind of her wife’s passion project so soon.

It was on the third year of their marriage, when Ellie received word from her superiors that the President was personally interested in her project. They celebrated then, mostly shocked that Ellie’s project got picked up so quickly.

392 days is a long time to be separated from her wife, but Dina would be the first to reprimand herself if she ever stood in the way of Ellie’s dreams. They’d handled long distance before—that is if a three-hour drive counted as _long-distance_.

But that was a different time. Dina was in Dallas finishing her final semester at college, and Ellie was sent to Houston to start training camp at NASA. They saw each other on weekends and holidays, and it never really felt like they were separated at all.

This time is much more different. The trip to outer space is the most obvious contrast but explaining the distance and the location to their 7-year-old son was a different experience in itself.

So, Dina watches as Ellie and JJ lie down on the grass in their backyard. She’s sitting on a bench on the porch while her wife points out constellations to their little boy. The weather isn’t perfect for the occasion, but the scene is enough to warm Dina’s heart all the same.

“Are you going to disappear?” Dina hears JJ ask and finds herself laughing with Ellie.

“Nah, I’m just taking a big spaceship to visit the stars, Spud. Think of it like I’m going on vacation,” Ellie responds.

“Can you bring me one back?”

Dina sees the cheeky smile on Ellie’s face. She can tell how hard her wife is holding back her excitement to see their son so interested in her work.

“You want me to bring you back a star?” Ellie beams at their son.

When JJ eagerly nods, Dina is the first to burst out laughing.

She pictures Ellie hauling a giant rock after a year in space. Dina is sure that Ellie would be the first to jump at the chance to bring a souvenir back from her trip if she was given permission.

Bewildered by his mother’s amusement, JJ begins to fuss, misinterpreting his parents’ laughter for ridicule.

“I want the biggest star!” JJ stretches his arms wide to show the size of the gift he’s expecting.

With Ellie still winding down from laughter, Dina goes ahead and tries to explain themselves.

“JJ, honey, stars are giant rocks. Bigger than the Grand Canyon. I’m not sure your mom will be able to carry a star back home.”

Their son sulks into Ellie’s side, clearly unhappy with her answer. Dina’s heart breaks at the thought of having her two favourite people separated from each other.

“Tell you what,” Ellie gently coaxes him out to face her, “I’ll bring you back a gift from space, but it’ll be a surprise instead. Is that okay?”

Ellie’s words seem to do the job, and the surprise gift is all JJ talks about after her wife’s ship lifts off from the ground and into the stars.

**

It’s exactly 400 days from lift-off, when Ellie finally comes back home.

JJ is overjoyed and all Dina can feel is a strong sense of calming relief.

The same words repeat themselves in her mind: _Ellie is safe. Ellie wife is home._

Getting their son to calm down was a challenge that night. His energy bounced off every room of the house, until it was time for him to go to bed. Much has happened over the past year, and as children’s thoughts quickly flit from one thing to another, JJ’s mind had forgotten about his request to get a souvenir from space.

He and Dina are in the master bedroom watching Ellie unpack her suitcase when JJ notices a gift-wrapped package poking out of the bag. JJ swiftly snatches the object and holds it up to Ellie.

“Is this for me?” he asks, eyes wide and twinkling.

“It’s your gift, bud. I promised you something from up there remember?” Ellie moves the suitcase off the bed and sits next to JJ.

Curious with the exchange, Dina sits up to peek at the object in their son’s hand. JJ immediately rips into the wrapper and holds up a small but empty mason jar, confusion replacing the smile on his face. He inspects the item before attempting to pry the lid open.

“Ah ah ah!” Ellie stops his hands from opening the lid, “you can’t ever open this container, bud.”

Dina’s brows furrow, but Ellie’s grin only widens when she sees the confusion on her wife’s face.

“What is it?” JJ asks, and Dina is glad at their son’s inquisitive nature. She wants to know what the empty jar is all about.

“I couldn’t bring you back a star, but I thought I’d give you something even cooler!” Ellie points at the little container, “this little thing? It has air from space inside it. That’s why you can’t open it because it’s special.”

“Air?”

“Yeah, Spud. There’s more of this up in space than there are stars,” Ellie explains, and JJ is quick to buy into the little gift he was given.

“How many more? Like, a lot a lot?” his little hands cradle the container, handling it with as much care as a child can muster.

“An infinite amount, dude. There’s so much of it that there’s no number to count. And the best part is,” there’s a lilt to her voice that makes JJ light up with delight, “you’re the only one on earth that gets a bit of it.”

The whole moment should be adorable, and Dina thinks it is. She’s amazed at the creativity behind Ellie’s gift, but an idea comes to her which makes the scene more comical than it looks.

**

It’s much later, when JJ is finally asleep in his room, and when Dina has shown Ellie just how much she’s missed her that the thought comes back.

They’re languidly swimming in the aftermath of their intimacy, but Dina needs to know something before they nod off.

“Babe, you still awake?” she mumbles.

“Hmm… a little bit?” Ellie responds, her voice sleepy but alert.

“I need to ask you something and you promise to give me an honest answer?” Dina feigns uncertainty and is content when her wife falls right into the trap.

Ellie stiffens in her arms, her eyes showing the tiniest bit of worry. Dina has to fight the smile threatening to expose her.

“You know you can ask me anything.”

“Did you give our son your space fart jar?”

“Oh my god!” Ellie relaxes and shakes the bed with her laughter.

“I knew it!” Dina teases.

“Of course, I didn’t!” Ellie exclaims, “I’m not stupid enough to keep methane gas in an enclosed container. That would just be reckless. Do you know the fire hazards that—"

Dina cuts her off with a kiss until she feels Ellie melt in her hold. Once certain that Ellie had forgotten her science-filled speech, Dina chimes in one last time, “space air, fart jar, same difference right?”

**Author's Note:**

> Yup! You thought right. I ended the EllieDina Week with a fart joke. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Let me know if you like it. Stay safe!


End file.
